Install and activate

Download the app for your computer, install it, sign in with the account or licence key you were given, and open your first profile. It takes a few minutes.

Download

1. Go to get.renotsnkrs.com and choose the download for your system.
2. In Get your download link, choose Email and password or License key, enter the details you were given and press Get download link. Downloads are only available to licensed users.
3. If the page asks you to accept the terms of use, tick the box before you continue.

Check the file

The download page shows a SHA-256 checksum under Verify your download. Compare it with the file you received:

# Windows (Command Prompt or PowerShell)
certutil -hashfile Echidna-<version>-windows-x64.exe SHA256

# macOS and Linux
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Echidna-<version>-macos-arm64.dmg

The two values must match exactly. If they don't, delete the file and download it again.

Install on Windows

1. Verify the checksum, then open the downloaded .exe installer.
2. Echidna is a private release and its installer is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show an “unrecognised app” warning. After checking that the file came from the download page, select More info → Run anyway.
3. Follow the installer. During setup it gives the browser's sandbox read access to its engine folder; if that step fails, the installer stops with “Could not grant Chromium sandbox read access. Installation cannot continue.”

Install on macOS

1. Open the downloaded .dmg and drag Echidna into Applications.
2. The first time, right-click Echidna → Open → Open. Echidna is distributed privately and isn't notarised by Apple, so macOS asks once.
3. If macOS still refuses (for example “can't be opened” or “is damaged”), go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway, or run this in Terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Echidna.app

Echidna for macOS runs on Apple Silicon Macs only. There is no Intel build.

Install on Linux

Debian package (recommended)

On Ubuntu 22.04 or newer and Debian 12 or newer:

sudo apt install ./Echidna-*-linux-x64.deb

The Debian package installs to /usr/lib/Echidna and configures Chromium's sandbox helper for you.

AppImage (portable)

chmod +x Echidna-*-linux-x64.AppImage
./Echidna-*-linux-x64.AppImage

If you're asked for it, install your distribution's FUSE 2 compatibility package. The AppImage relies on the kernel's user-namespace sandbox; if your system restricts it, use the .deb instead.

Sign in

When Echidna starts, it first shows “Starting the Echidna engine…”. This takes a few seconds the first time. Then the Sign in to Echidna screen appears. Echidna opens browsers only on signed-in computers.

1. Enter the Email and Password you were given, or choose Use a license key instead and paste your License key. Keys look like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX; groups and dashes are fine, and letter case doesn't matter.
2. Check the Device name. It is filled in with your computer's name and is how this computer appears in your account's device list. You can change it, for example to “Work laptop” (up to 64 characters).
3. Press Sign in.

Signing in uses one of your licence's device slots. Your profiles, cookies and settings stay on this computer and are never uploaded. See Licence and devices for how devices and offline use work.

Create your first profile

On a new install, a Get ready checklist opens by itself once the engine is running. It walks you through the same steps: Add proxies, Create your first profile, and optional mail, webhook and backup setup. You can also do it directly:

1. Open Profiles and press New profile.
2. Type a Profile name. Only the name is required; websites never see it.
3. On the Proxy tab, choose Use a proxy and paste it into Quick paste, for example host:port:user:pass or socks5://user:pass@host:port. Press Check proxy to make sure it works.
4. Press Create profile. Echidna generates a unique fingerprint for it.
5. Press Open on the profile's row. A normal browser window opens, named after the profile.

Creating a profile needs an internet connection and a signed-in app, because each new fingerprint is issued by Echidna's servers. Existing profiles open without it while your licence is valid.

Next, read Profiles for everything else you can do with them, or Proxies and location to manage a proxy pool.